Boucherville school workshop on bullying ends in tears, insults

Parents are lividafter a workshopon bullying at aschool on Montreal's South Shore devolved into profanity-laced insults and tears.

A student teacheratPierre-Boucher Elementary School in Boucherville led an exercise in bullying thatquickly went wrong, according to parents who spoke to CBC's French-language service Radio-Canada.

Several students were crying. It's completely deplorablethat a teacher would authorize such a situation in her class.- Parent atPierre-BoucherElementary School

Without being told why, a12-year-old boy was asked to leave the classroom by the teacher. His classmateswere instructed to think of insults as part of the lesson.

After being called back into the classroom, the boy was met with a flurry of insults, ranging from "idiot" to profanity-laced taunts.

"There were no limits," one parent, who asked not to be named to protect the identity of their child, told Radio-Canada.

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After each insult, students dropped a dictionary into a bin the boy was told to hold. The weight of dictionaries was meant to represent the weight of hurtful words.

The exercise ended after 15 minutes with several students in tears.

"The students who insulted the other student are also affected," said another parent, who also didn't wish to be identified.

"Several students were crying. It's completely deplorable that a teacher would authorize such a situation in her class."

The school board, the Commission scolaire des Patriotes, confirmed the incident in an email to Radio-Canada, calling it "unfortunate," but declined a request for an interview.

In a letter to parents, the school board said there was help available for students who wished to talk about the incident.

The school board also said it had dismissedthe student teacher, saying that the workshop was not authorized by administration.

gide Royer, a psychology professor atLaval University, said the exercise showed a lack of judgment.

"We don't want to encourage young children to model aggressive behaviour," he said.